i am totally stunned. i worked on my unit (ob/gyn with occasional med/surg overflow) as a cna for 2 years while doing prerequisites & nursing school, then just graduated last may. although i know that i'm not the best nurse my floor has to offer (obviously, i don't have the 20-30 yrs of experience that others do), i thought i was doing so much better in every area. then yesterday, my boss calls me for a meeting & tells me she has to let me go. almost all of her reasons were old (i have made really stupid mistakes in the past, i know, but like i said, i had been getting so much better). she only used one instance from about a week ago, in which "i didn't use critical thinking" - but it wasn't even anything that could have affected my pts. also, she stated that she was getting all sorts of written & verbal complaints from pts about me (which she never gave any details, and my pts are constantly saying thanks for being so kind, or thanks for taking such good care of me, etc). i am currently working on my resume, but i'll admit, this still is a huge blow to my confidence. i had thought i was getting so much better, but then my boss pretty much tells me that it's "too little, too late."
i'm not exactly for sure what i want with this post - i guess it's mostly words of moral support, and also ideas for my resume, what to say in interviews, etc. i know i learn slower than a lot of people - but once i've got it, i've got it. and i thought i had it right before this. any comments?
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[color=#483d8b]ps: my boss says that i'm not fired, because if she had fired me, she wouldn't want to see me again. she says that if i can grow in my nursing role, in about another year she would love to hire me again. but only if "certain conditions" are met. i'm not sure what that means. also, she said that if she thought i wasn't made for nursing, she would tell me. oh, and one more thing - i never had a clue that being "let go" was a real possibility until she called yesterday morning & said some things that made me afraid of it. should i have read the red flags? i don't even remember any "red flags".
thanks for the words of encouragement! i go for my exit interview on monday, so i'll be asking to see records & such then. my boss told me that i am available for rehire - i'll be sure to check it out. thanks again for everything (tips & encouragement)! :nuke:
this happened to me while i was on orientation as an rn applicant. i feel for you and agree with everyone that has posted that you need to get things in writing and find out exactly if you are really eligible for rehire. also definately find out what your termination is listed as. i am eligible for rehire at the place that "terminated" me also, but i've given up trying.
good luck to you. don't let this be a blow to your confidence though i know from experience how much it hurts. tell yourself that it just wasn't a good enough fit and that you will find a place where you are a good fit, doing what you love doing. and just because some of us are slower learners than others doesn't mean we are bad nurses.
i did and my boss said there will be no problem. yipeeeee!!! thanks!! :nuke:
"either way, ask her to provide you with a written reference on hospital letterhead to take with you. that way, there is no possibility that she will promise you a positive reference, then fail to provide it when requested by a future employer. you will keep the original and bring it to future interviews for the manager to copy and place in your file." --jolie
yes, do this right away before you even think another thought!!!
thanks for the clarification! i was an rn with that job for 7 months (licensed), but working full time since may of last year. i held a prn position as a cna while going to school, although it very rarely meant less than 20 hours a week.
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[color=#2f4f4f]oh, and the possible rif - i'm 99.99% sure that's what it was. i found out last night that my boss had to "get rid of" (via transfer or firing) 5 staff members, due to economic factors. hmmmm, pretty suspicious to me. plus, there's a lot of other things that have really angered & hurt me (about the whole situation), but oh well. all i can do is pick up the broken pieces and go on. hopefully to somewhere that will be supportive and helpful. thanks so much for the clarification and encouragement. i'm going to file for unemployment on monday, since it's a 1/2 hr drive from home, very close to the hospital where i'll be doing my exit interview. so, we'll see how it goes. thanks again! :nuke:
can i jump in here and clarify the "hr speak"??
in hr language, "termination" simply means that the course of employment was ended -- no negative connotations at all. there are basically 2 types of termination: voluntary & involuntary. there are all sorts of reasons for voluntary termination - usually classified as either 'avoidable' (dissatisfaction, leaving for more money, etc) or 'unavoidable' (spouse transfer, change in health status, change in family status, etc.). involuntary termination can mean "fired" (for cause) or job lost due to 'reduction in force' (rif).
usually, when a prospective employer calls about job history, they ask if the person is eligible for rehire - a 'no' generally indicates involuntary termination for cause.
bottom line, don't let the word 'termination' give you the willies - it's pretty meaningless by itself.
the situation described by the op, seems pretty clear to me - she was rif'd due to position cut-backs. generally, this does entitle a person to severance and eligibility for unemployment. but, if she was only employed for 2 months this may not be the case in her state unless they count her previous cna position also.
Something very similar happened to me a couple of months ago. I was given the option to resign rather than be fired. Management did not go through normal procedures of written reprimands, etc. I had a couple of meetings where my mistakes were pointed out to me, and then one day I was called in and told I had 36 hours to resign or be terminated. I really feel for you! It just sucks! It was a huge hit to my self esteem. I just started a new job this week, so take heart! There are jobs out there. I can honestly say to anyone who asks that the old job was not a good fit. I wasn't happy, they weren't happy, and it just didn't work. That doesn't mean management has the right to treat you poorly, though. Get that written reference ASAP. Keep coming back to this site, too. It helped me a lot. I found many others with similar experiences, and I felt like I had a support system to fall back on. Good luck with your job search! My thoughts are with you.:heartbeat
thanks for your words of encouragement. it does stink soooo baaaaad how this has played out. i wasn't even given the chance to resign - i had to be terminated. but yet i got a letter of recommendation (which, by the way, was a total waste of good paper & ink :angryfire). go figure! :icon_roll but the nice thing is that i put my resume online last friday and have already gotten multiple calls/e-mails for job offers, and have had 2 phone interviews for hospitals in 2 different states. this reminds me that all hope is not lost! plus, maybe my boss just didn't deserve a good nurse like me under her! least ways, i love telling myself that! thanks again for the encouragement! and i do plan to keep coming back - especially once i get into whatever new position. i may need somewhere to vent the frustration of not getting it, all over again. i hope not, but i'm trying to prepare myself for just in case. ok, that's all for me, for now. thanks again! :nuke:
something very similar happened to me a couple of months ago. i was given the option to resign rather than be fired. management did not go through normal procedures of written reprimands, etc. i had a couple of meetings where my mistakes were pointed out to me, and then one day i was called in and told i had 36 hours to resign or be terminated. i really feel for you! it just sucks! it was a huge hit to my self esteem. i just started a new job this week, so take heart! there are jobs out there. i can honestly say to anyone who asks that the old job was not a good fit. i wasn't happy, they weren't happy, and it just didn't work. that doesn't mean management has the right to treat you poorly, though. get that written reference asap. keep coming back to this site, too. it helped me a lot. i found many others with similar experiences, and i felt like i had a support system to fall back on. good luck with your job search! my thoughts are with you.:heartbeat
americanlatina313
51 Posts
thanks for the words of encouragement! i go for my exit interview on monday, so i'll be asking to see records & such then. my boss told me that i am available for rehire - i'll be sure to check it out. thanks again for everything (tips & encouragement)! :nuke: